India burns 2,500 rhino horns to protect wildlife

Remembrance World Rhinoceros DayOn September 22, he was selected this year by the Assam state government of India to celebrate a popular festival where 2,479 rhino horns were burned.

The celebration aims to make people aware of the importance of protecting rhinos. The action is aimed at the entire rhino (of which five species are known) but specifically it features the Indian rhino as the protagonist (Rhinoceros Unicornis), One of the three species living on the Asian continent, the Javanese rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros.

Indian officials burned the horns in the presence of officials and dozens of Hindu priests at a playground near the famed Kaziranga National Park.

The charred horns, which had been stored for many years, came from naturally dead rhinos in other small habitats in Kazaringa and in the state and were confiscated from predators. Kaziranga is home to nearly 2,500 Indian rhinos and is the world’s largest habitat for this species.

Armed rangers protect rhinos, but poachers are still able to kill some. Rhinoceros horns are sold by poachers in South Asia, China, Vietnam and some other countries. The sale of horns is illegal in India.

Assam Prime Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said, “The trade in rhino horns should be stopped and it is wrong to claim that these horns have medicinal properties.”

MK Yadav, chairman of Assam Wildlife Monitoring Committees, said the burning of the horn would help create awareness on the need to protect Indian rhinos and prevent poaching.

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